After months of negotiations, Apple is set to start manufacturing iPhones in the Indian tech hub Bangalore, a government official says.

The state of Karnataka, where Bangalore is located, has reached an agreement in principle with Apple, said Priyank Kharge, the state's information technology minister.

Advertisement

Kharge told CNNMoney that iPhone assembly could start as soon as April at a plant on the outskirts of Bangalore. The plant will be operated by Wistron, an Apple supplier that's headquartered in Taiwan.

Apple declined to comment.

The U.S. tech giant currently sells iPhones and other products in India through local distributors, but it lags far behind Samsung and Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Lenovo in terms of market share.